JP6259662B2 - Method and computer program for monitoring user-initiated behavior and correlating with back-end operations - Google Patents

Description

Background A. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to computer applications, and more particularly to monitoring user interactions with computer applications.

B. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When developing and maintaining any product that includes a software application, it should be necessary to monitor end-user interaction with the product. If the user's work can be monitored, it will be easier for developers and administrators to identify how the user interacts with the application and to identify areas to be improved.

  Previous attempts to monitor user interaction have been extremely limited. While querying the user directly may be somewhat effective, such a method lacks appeal. First, it is difficult for a user to respond to a survey or notify a problem. Second, users may not pay close attention to the actions they are performing. Third, even if a company can cause a user to voluntarily submit user work information, the user may not have useful information. Computers are ubiquitous in modern society, which means that many people without technical skills use computers. These amateur users may not have any insight into interacting with their computers. Traditionally, these end users have only two criteria for evaluating or monitoring their interaction with the application. These criteria are how long it takes to complete the interaction with the application and its availability. Fourth, what a user sees as a single interaction can include several operations that can be shielded from the user. Therefore, even if the user is willing to be willing to follow and submit his / her work information voluntarily and provide some meaningful information, the user will be aware of the rigorous problem of dialogue. It may not be possible. Finally, such a method is delayed and cannot be performed in real time.

  Other attempts to monitor the user's work include observing data during user interaction. For example, a website, or more specifically a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), where the user is directed to his or her browser can be consulted to some degree to extract information. However, in such a method, at best, only a small perspective on the actual user's intention is given to the uniform information.

  Thus, previous attempts to provide meaningful information about what the user was trying to do when interacting with the application have been very limited or ineffective.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference will now be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These figures are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting. While the invention has been described generally in the context of these examples, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular examples.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system for user work monitoring according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a set of nested task flows according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates a method for user work monitoring according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for user work monitoring for partial page requests according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates a method for obtaining stored user work monitoring data according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for user activity monitoring including secondary requests according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates a method for user activity monitoring including client-side transfer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. Moreover, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the invention described below can be implemented in a variety of ways, including software, hardware or firmware, or combinations thereof. Accordingly, the drawings described herein are illustrative of specific embodiments of the invention and are not intended to obscure the present invention.

  The components or modules shown in the block diagrams are illustrative of specific embodiments of the invention and are not intended to obscure the present invention. It will also be appreciated that throughout this description, components may be described as separate functional units that may include sub-units. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various components or portions thereof can be divided into separate components or can be integrated together, including integration into a single system or component. right. Note that the functions or operations described in this specification may be implemented as components or modules.

  Furthermore, the connections between the components in the figure are not intended to be limited to direct connections. Rather, the data between these components may be modified, reformatted or changed by intermediate components. Also, connections that may be used may be added or reduced. By “coupled” or “communicatively coupled” is understood to include direct connection, indirect connection through one or more intermediate devices, and wireless connection. Please also note.

  Where the specification refers to “one embodiment”, “preferred embodiment”, “an embodiment” or “embodiments”, the embodiment A particular feature, structure, feature, or function described in connection with is meant to be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and may be included in more than one embodiment. Various phrases in the specification include the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, and “in embodiments”. Although not all of these are necessarily referring to the same embodiment.

  Where specific terms are used in various places in the specification, this is for purposes of illustration and should not be construed as limiting. The use of the terms “service” or “function” is not limited to describing a single function, and when used, refers to a group of related functions or functionality. There is a possibility. Similarly, use of the term “resource” is not limited to describing a single resource, and the term refers to a set of resources that can be distributed or collected within a computing environment. May be used to refer.

  The embodiments of the present invention presented in this specification will be described using examples of web applications. These examples are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Those skilled in the art will also recognize the general applicability of the present invention to other applications.

A. Comprehensive System Overview Because the results of traditional user interaction monitoring methods have been ineffective, there is a need for systems and methods that allow more direct judgment and inference of semantic information about user interactions Is done. Thus, aspects of the invention include the capture of information that may be useful in determining or inferring what the user was trying to do when interacting with the application. The administrator seeks to monitor the health of the entire system, and the data collected regarding individual user interactions helps the administrator perform this task.

  To facilitate this user activity monitoring, the rich client framework provides information about the request so that the administrator can monitor the health of the pages in the application for both past and present. For example, user work information may include several data elements, eg, “click to render” time, event information, context identifier, region identifier, and even partial, for purposes of illustration and not limitation For requests, including streaming requests (eg, fetching data in a table), client-side transfer requests, etc., user work information is also typically grouped in a header, response body or URL using special parameters. Information may be included. In some embodiments, the performance metric “click to render” time is the time that the user performs the action on the browser (client start time), and the web application completes the process of this action, All processes up to the time for updating the browser using the result (client end time) are included. In some embodiments, applications can use this framework to monitor interactions, such as by sniffing traffic between clients and servers, and extract semantic information using easily identifiable parameters. can do. The extracted semantic information can then be used by an application and / or administrator to monitor user interaction.

  FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an overall system 100 for user activity monitoring according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a client computing system 110 that is communicatively coupled to a backend system 130 via a network 125. In some examples, the computing device may be a desktop computer, laptop computer, mobile device, or other device or set of devices with processing capabilities. Network 125 may be the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a direct connection, or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, the backend system 130 may be part of the network 125. In some embodiments, the backend system 130 may be one or more servers, such as a web server. The backend system 130 can be contained within a single device or can be distributed across multiple devices.

  In some embodiments, the system 100 includes two software components, modules or applications. One module 120 operates in the front end or client computing device 110, and the other module 135, back end or server module 135 operates in the back end 130. In some embodiments, the front end module 120 may be a plug-in module or other module that works with a client application, such as the browser 115. The client module 120 and the server module 130 support the formation of a framework, which captures user interaction information on the client side and links these interactions with operations performed by the backend system. To allow the application to extract data about user work.

  The client module 120 takes user work information and exchanges at least some of this information with the backend 130. The server module 135 is also configured to exchange data regarding user work monitoring with the client module 120.

  In some embodiments, the client module 120 sends this information by attaching it to a typical transmission. For example, the client module 120 may include user work data in the request. Piggybacking user work data using existing dialog or network work helps reduce the overhead of user monitoring work. Also, user work may be included as one or more special parameters in the URL, header, body, or combinations thereof to help reduce indirect processing costs. By using special parameters, the overhead of extracting user work data can be dramatically reduced by selecting where these special parameters should be transmitted, or both. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that other implementations may be utilized. For example, user work data may be transmitted in a separate network transmission, provided that network traffic and / or processing methods are not of great concern.

  In some embodiments, information that may be available as part of user work monitoring data for a request includes, but is not limited to:

-In some embodiments, a context identifier that is a string context identifier for a primary or secondary operation;
• In some embodiments, a parent context identifier that is the context identifier of the parent (or primary) action for the secondary action;
• In some embodiments, the client start time, which is the current start time of the client request. In some embodiments, the client start time is in accordance with UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) using the client's clock;
In some embodiments, a PPR (Partial Page Request) target, which is a list of component identifiers registered as partial targets with the client for the current request. These items represent components that can be changed or updated without requiring the entire web page to be updated or reloaded. A partial page request is a request that results in a response that includes markup for only the portion of the page that needs to be changed, rather than the entire page. In particular, the client can request that a particular part of the page be recreated, and the server can add additional parts.

In some embodiments, event information that is information about operations that may include, but is not limited to:
-In some embodiments, it may be at a lower level (such as an action event indicating that a button or link has been selected) or (a pop-up window was displayed, a row was selected in the table, Event types that can be higher levels;
− Component type. In some embodiments, a server display of a page is associated with code to handle user interaction on the page (eg, processing input to a text area, selecting items to purchase, etc.) ing. This is often modeled as a tree of user interface components. These components also generate the context displayed on the client, such as HTML and associated javascript. The client may also have a corresponding tree of user interface components to handle interactions on the client without having to return to the server. These components can be lower level encapsulations such as buttons, or higher level encapsulations such as displaying a shopping cart in a user interface. In some embodiments, it is these types of components that are recorded in association with component types.

  -In some embodiments, a component client Id that is the client identifier of the component that is the source of the event. In some embodiments, this uniquely identifies an instance of the component type, eg, which button was clicked.

  -In some embodiments, a component display name, which is a name that identifies the component on the web page. For example, a button or link may be given an identifier by the application, but the administrator will not readily know what the identifier refers to. Thus, in some embodiments, the client component attempts to assign or at least assign a display name that may be more meaningful to the administrator when attempting to confirm user work. (For example, if the event selected by the user is the result of the user clicking the “Cancel” button, “Cancel” is assigned as the component display name). That is, the component display name is usually a human-readable name such as “cancel” displayed on the user interface, and is more meaningful such as “cancel application”. While the identifier uniquely identifies the component within the page, the display name may not be unique. In some embodiments, the identifier may provide context information about the component as well. In some embodiments, the client appant may send both the component display identifier assigned by the application and its own component display name identifier.

  -In some embodiments, a region name that is a list of region names up to the outermost region when a user action begins within the region. In some embodiments, the web page may be divided into various areas and task flows. If an event begins in a defined area, the area name may be collected and used. Nesting information may be gathered when a region is nested within one or more other regions. For purposes of illustration and not limitation, consider the example shown in FIG. FIG. 2 depicts a set of nested task flows 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a portion of the application's display includes a set of nested task flows that are presented in various areas of the display. In the example shown, a component, in this case a button 215, exists in the area 210 of taskflow 2. The displayed area 210 of task flow 2 is nested within a larger area 205 associated with task flow 1. Thus, region identifiers may indicate this nested relationship. For example, the area identifier for the user event of the user selecting the button 215 may be “task flow 1: task flow 2: button”.

  The region view Id is a list of region identifiers that reach the outermost region when a user action starts in the region. In some embodiments, the realm name is the name that identifies the task flow as a whole, a name that the administrator may be familiar with, and a higher level (such as “checkout”) A name that may describe the process, while the region view identifier is derived from a file name that contains the definition of the region (such as “checkout_credit_card.jsff)”.

  In some embodiments, “event information” may be set to “null” for a request resulting from a change in client attributes.

  In some embodiments, information available as part of user work monitoring data that may be included as part of a response or request may include, but is not limited to:

-In some embodiments, a view Id that is the identifier of the view of the response page for the request that was just made;
In some embodiments, a context Id that is the context identifier of the current request. In some embodiments, a diagnostic and monitoring service functioning at the back end may generate an execution context identifier for the current request that is used to correlate logged work performed for the request. In some embodiments, this execution context identifier (ECID) may be used as the context Id.

  A secondary, in some embodiments, a parameter for identifying that the request or response is a supplemental part of a previous primary user request. For example, a data streaming request is an example of a secondary request that will generate a secondary response. A data streaming request typically occurs when the response for the primary request includes a data rich component such as a table or tree. Often, only the layout is part of the response for the primary request, and the data for these components is retrieved as part of the secondary streaming request. In some embodiments, the Boolean flag may be set to indicate that the response is associated with a previous primary request.

  In some embodiments, parameters including, but not limited to, view Id, context Id, and secondary are placed in the response header. By placing this information in the header, the computational cost of extraction is lower than when it is placed in a response body that can contain a significant amount of data. However, those skilled in the art will recognize several ways in which data can be transmitted and extracted. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art can send one or more parameters related to user work monitoring to the client as part of the response payload, as part of the response header, in a separate communication, or some combination thereof. You will recognize that you can. In some embodiments, the interaction between the front end and the back end may be sniffed by a monitoring application to obtain data regarding user work monitoring.

B. Specific Method Embodiment FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a method for monitoring user activity according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, semantic information regarding user interaction with the application is recorded 305 at the client. Semantic information will be understood to mean information that can be used to determine or infer what a user has done or is trying to do with an application. To facilitate the passing of semantic information between the client and server, at least some of the semantic information is transmitted between the client or front end and the server or back end using identifiable parameters (310). ). In some embodiments, special parameters may appear in the URL, header, body, or combinations thereof. Logged information about operations performed at the back end may be linked to a client request received at the front end (315). It has semantic information about what the user is doing at the front end, and the front end and back end operations are linked so that what the user does when interacting with the application It may be easy to identify what was or was going to be done (320). In some embodiments, applications can use this framework to monitor interactions, such as by sniffing traffic between clients and servers, and extract semantic information using easily identifiable parameters. can do. The extracted semantic information can then be used by an application and / or administrator to monitor user interaction. In some embodiments, the application may run on the back end.

  By transmitting semantic information about the user interface and context identifier, it is possible to perform analysis at at least two levels. 1) a quick analysis of what is being done based on user-interface semantics (in some embodiments, this analysis may be done in real time or aggregated together), and 2) A deeper analysis of what happened with respect to a particular request-response (in some embodiments, this analysis is performed using context identifiers to identify user interaction, rapid analysis, or both) Request-response can be rebound to more detailed information about what was happening on the backend). A typical workflow uses information during rapid analysis to identify potential problems in the execution system, and then deeper analysis to determine what actually happened and why it happened Includes administrators who use

  A specific example of a method related to user work monitoring is shown below. Specific examples include implementation information provided by way of example and not limitation. For example, it should be noted that some of the steps in the methods described and claimed can be changed or performed in a different order without substantially changing the invention. Thus, it should be noted that implementation details are optional and other implementations may be used. Thus, the scope of the present invention is not limited by implementation details that have room for choice or that do not substantially change the user work monitoring application.

A. Partial Page Request Embodiment FIG. 4 illustrates a method for user activity monitoring for partial page requests according to an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, the user initiates operations at the client or front end. For example, the user may input a URL into the application. In some embodiments, a client-side module stores data regarding user work for the initial interaction (420). For example, if the initial action was the user selecting a link or button on a web page, the link or button identifier may be recorded, the event may be recorded, the link or button area May be recorded, and so on. In some embodiments, this information may be simulated or left blank / unknown because the client start time of the user request may not be known in the first interaction. In some embodiments, other user data may be collected and stored.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a request is sent from the client to the backend 415 (420). In some embodiments, the request may include some of the user work data captured at client 410 (425). Alternatively, the user work data for the current request may not include the request, but instead only the next request, partly in the current request and partly in the next request. Or as one or more separate communications.

  Back end system 415 receives the request from front end 410 (430) and processes the request (430). In some embodiments, the backend system generates a context identifier (eg, an execution context identifier (ECID)), and the work performed in processing the request is logged and stored in that ECID. Associated. Logging work and associating it with a start request facilitates diagnosis and monitoring, and also facilitates logging of user work. Often, the backend application server may have a mechanism for generating a request or context identifier. Thus, in some embodiments, the plug-in interface of the server component can utilize the identifier. It should be noted that the use of various context identifiers makes it possible to extract embodiments of the present invention from specific application implementations, thereby increasing versatility. In some embodiments, the backend system 415 extracts user work data and stores it in association with the context identifier. In some embodiments, the server system does not perform extraction, storage or analysis; rather, this information is simply published for one or more other applications or tools that monitor network traffic gathering. It is only done. Thus, embodiments of the present invention perform temporary data storage between the start and response of a request, otherwise the data may not be stored or logged. In some embodiments, the extracted and logged user work data may include information about current requests, previous requests, or both.

  After processing the request, the backend system returns a response 435 (430). In some embodiments, the response includes a response payload for completing the requested action and additional user work related data that may be useful for user monitoring. For example, in some embodiments, the response is ECID. The response header may include a context identifier that is 1 and other data such as a view identifier for the page to be updated. For example, if the user chooses to view the product catalog as a request, the request URL may have an identifier that is different from the backend identifier. Thus, in some embodiments, the view ID, which is the backend identifier for the view that the user sees, may be sent as a special parameter with the response. As an example, the view identifier shown in FIG. 4 for response 1 may be “ProductCatalog.jspx”.

  The front end system 410 receives and processes the response from the back end (440). In some embodiments, the client end time is noted for the client side to load the page and complete the requested operation. In some embodiments, this information will be sent to the server as part of the next request. Alternatively, some or all of the information about the initial user request and response may not be collected or transmitted to the backend.

  The user interacts with a loaded page that creates the next request (eg, clicking a button / link or changing an attribute). For example, the next request may be an event that is passed to the server to trigger a partial page response, or the next request is an attribute change that is passed to the server to trigger a partial refresh of the component. It may be. One skilled in the art will recognize that one type of partial page request can be a partial page submit. When request 2 is ready to proceed to the server, the client module checks to see if any client-side user work data saved for the previous request exists. If it exists, the request, that is, request 2 in FIG. 4 is included.

  In some embodiments, user work data piggybacked on the request may be included in either the header or the body. This is because requests are typically smaller than responses, since these are typically formats such as HTTP posts that are easily parsed. Also, in some embodiments, identification is facilitated by special parameters that identify end user monitoring information. This is because the parser can find the parameter in the text. In some embodiments, the special parameter may be an XML document that includes various user work information such as client start time, triggered event user, region, and the like.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the next request, Request 2, is sent to the server (445) and user work data is included in the request. In some embodiments, the user work data is (for known or simulated) request 1 client start time, client-end time to complete the request-response, and its request-response. Data on previous request-response (such as the context identifier). In some embodiments, the user work data may also include data about the current request (such as the client start time of request 2 and other event or component information that may be known). Note that in the described embodiment, the context identifier for request 2 is unknown because that identifier is assigned by the server. Also, the client end time for request 2 is still unknown because the request is currently in progress.

  The server receives this next request and repeats many steps as usual (450). That is, in some embodiments, the back end generates a context identifier (eg, ECID 2), processes the request, and logs data related to processing of request 2. In some embodiments, the back end 415 also extracts user work data from the request and logs that data. As noted above, in some embodiments, the server system may not perform extraction, storage or analysis, but rather this data is simply one or more that monitors network traffic gathering. Only published for other applications or tools. By associating user work data with a unique context identifier, it is possible to link logged data together, thereby providing further perspective on the interaction between the user and the entire system. That is, by associating user work data with a unique context identifier, it is possible to link logged data with more detailed information logged by other back-end components, and for specific requests / responses Get a more comprehensive idea of what happened. In some embodiments, the back end also sends response data (response 2). This may include data used to monitor user activity, such as context identifiers, view identifiers for request and response 2.

  One skilled in the art will recognize that these general process steps (eg, steps 440-455) can be repeated for various user interactions. For example, steps 460-475 repeat the same general conceptual steps that collect and publish user work related data and facilitate the interaction between the back end and the front end to link the various work. .

  A person skilled in the art will know that in some embodiments where user work data is piggybacked on the next request, if there is no next request, the data can be sent separately or before the application is unloaded. It will also be recognized that it can be obtained, transmitted on the next application load, or not transmitted. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are several ways to transmit data.

B. Obtaining Stored User Work Related Data In some embodiments, user work related data collected on the client side is stored as part of a web page. However, web applications can generate a variety of request and response interactions that can add complexity when attempting to gather and exchange data about user work. For example, if a web browser is transferred to a new page, any client-side information stored on the page will be lost when the new page is rendered. To handle such situations, user work related data may be stored and / or accessed from one or more secondary storage devices. FIG. 5 illustrates a method for obtaining stored user work monitoring data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 5 represents, by way of example and not limitation, a portion of the interaction between client 510 and server 515 with an emphasis on obtaining data regarding user work in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For illustrative purposes only, assume that a response is sent from the server to the client (520), resulting in the client rendering (525) the entire new page. Since a new page is generated, user work related data stored on the previous page is lost at this time. However, in some embodiments, some of the user work data, such as the client end time of the previous request-response interaction, may be useful and must be communicated to the backend for user work monitoring. I must. Thus, when the client system is ready to send the next request in response to the action, it checks whether there is user work related data for the previous request-response interaction stored on that page ( 535). If user work related data from a previous request is stored on the web page, the client system uses that data to send to the server (540). However, as the new page is being rendered in the example described here, the current page is new and no such data is stored. Thus, in some embodiments, the client system 510 obtains data from one or more secondary sources (545).

  Thus, in some embodiments, when storing user work related data, the client may store the user work related data in a web page and the data at one or more other locations. May be saved. In some embodiments, user work related data is stored in secondary storage prior to rendering. Additionally or alternatively, the client may obtain data from secondary sources including but not limited to browser session storage, cookies or global storage.

  Once user work related data is obtained (whether from the current page (540) or from one or more secondary sources (545)), the client sends the current request along with the user work related data.

C. Special requests and responses As mentioned in the last paragraph, web applications can generate a variety of request and response interactions that can add complexity when attempting to collect and communicate user work-related data. There is sex. There are instances where requests are generated that are not direct user actions. Since one of the primary goals of embodiments of the present invention is to collect data that can be used to determine or infer user work or actions, actions that occur as a problem of technical interaction rather than user interaction. It is beneficial to consider. Two such examples are shown below in connection with FIGS. FIG. 6 illustrates a method for user work monitoring including secondary requests, such as in the case of data streaming according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates a method for user activity monitoring including a transfer request according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1. Data streaming interactions between the data streaming client and server can result in additional requests and responses between the client and server. In order to capture true user work more accurately, embodiments of the present invention compensate for such interactions. In some embodiments, an interaction that is part of a larger task is noted as being associated with the primary task. The example shown in FIG. 6 is considered for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

  FIG. 6 illustrates a method for user activity monitoring including secondary requests according to an embodiment of the present invention. The user is viewing a web page 620 that is displayed to him or her on the client 610. For illustrative purposes, assume that the user has selected an action that causes rendering of the table on the page. The request (request n) is sent to the back end (625). User work related data may be sent with the request. In some embodiments, user work related data includes data for a previous request-response interaction (request-response n-1) and may include data for a current request (request n).

  The backend system 615 receives the request from the frontend 610 (630) and processes the request (630). In some embodiments, the backend system generates a context identifier (e.g., execution context identifier (ECID)) and the work performed when processing the request is logged and associated with that ECID. In some embodiments, the back-end system also extracts user work related data, identifies the data using special parameters, and stores the data. As noted above, in some embodiments, the server system may not perform extraction, storage or analysis. Rather, this information is only published for one or more other applications or tools that monitor network traffic gathering. The backend system returns a response (635). In some embodiments, the response includes a response payload with additional user work related data that may be useful for user monitoring.

  Front end system 610 receives and processes the response from the back end (640). In situations where there are one or more tables on the web page, or other data streaming situations, the page layout is received (eg, 640 display) when the response returns to the client. However, the data to fill the table is fetched and loaded during one or more subsequent interactions. Thus, when the client system receives response n, it automatically initiates another request (request n + 1) to the server to obtain data about the table (645). In some embodiments, the client module understands that it is a secondary request. This is because the client starts operation in the form of a code (for example, Javascript (registered trademark) code).

  However, this request is incidental to the primary request. From the user's point of view, he or she has requested acquisition of a table containing data, and therefore considers the operation complete when the table containing data is displayed. Thus, in some embodiments, the client system may include a special parameter that indicates that this request (request n + 1) is a secondary request. In some embodiments, a special parameter indicating a secondary request may be included in the request body or as part of the URL. The inclusion of special parameters in the request allows the application sniffing traffic to monitor user work data and knows that this request is a secondary request. Furthermore, since the initial request (request n) has not yet been fulfilled, the client may not include any other user work related data in this request (request n + 1).

  The server receives and processes the request (650). In some embodiments, the server may assign a context identifier for the secondary request and log data associated with the processing of the request. After processing the request, the server prepares a response (response n + 1). In some embodiments, the backend system understands that the request (request n + 1) is a streaming request, thereby making this request a secondary request and indicating that it is a secondary response. A special indicator is added to the response (655). In some embodiments, if a context identifier for a secondary request-response interaction is included, an application that monitors user work data can associate that context identifier with the primary context identifier.

  The client receives the secondary response (660) and loads the data into the table. In some embodiments, the client end time is calculated as the end of the response that completes the user's request. In the illustrated example, client start time 670 is the beginning of the primary request (request n) and client end time 675 is the end of the secondary response (response n + 1) rather than the end of the first response. One skilled in the art will recognize that there can be several tables on a web page. In some embodiments, the client end time is set when the last table is populated with data. Item 660 in FIG. 6 shows a web page having a table populated with data. In some embodiments, user work related data such as client start time 670 and client end time 675 may be sent to the server as part of the next request (request n + 2) or as a separate communication. In some embodiments, the user work related data includes context identifiers for primary requests (eg, ECID.n), secondary requests (eg, ECID.n + 1), or both.

  One skilled in the art will also recognize that if there are multiple tables, in some embodiments the end times for the individual tables can also be tracked. For example, the server can use a separate thread for each table, and once the data for the table is collected, this data can be sent to the client. The client can keep track of which tables are not complete, and the server may do the same. Once the data for all tables has been sent, the server closes the connection and the client knows that it has been done and can calculate the completed end time.

2. Transfer on the client side Transfer on the client side presents the same problem of accurately monitoring user work. Specifically, the client-side transfer also results in additional requests and responses between the client and server that are not true user work. In order to capture true user work more accurately, embodiments of the present invention compensate by paying attention to client-side forwarding. For purposes of illustration and not limitation, consider the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 illustrates a method for user activity monitoring including client-side transfer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The user is viewing a web page 720 that is displayed to him or her on the client 710. The event selected by the user results in a request (request n) being sent to the backend 715 (725). User work related data may be sent with the request. In some embodiments, user work related data may include data for a previous request-response interaction (request-response n-1) or may include data for a current request (request n). .

  The backend system 715 receives the request (730) and processes it (730). In some embodiments, the backend system generates a context identifier (eg, ECID) and the work performed in processing the request is logged and associated with that context identifier. In some embodiments, the back-end system also extracts user work related data, identifies the data using special parameters, and stores the data. In some embodiments, the server system may not perform extraction, storage, or analysis; rather, this information is simply one or more other applications or tools that monitor network traffic gathering. It is only published for that purpose. The backend system returns a response (735). In some embodiments, the response includes a response payload with additional user work related data that may be useful for user monitoring.

  The front end system 710 receives and processes the response from the back end (740). For illustrative purposes, a response when processed at the client results in a transfer request (request n + 1) being sent (745). In some embodiments, when a transfer response is processed on the client, the client stores any unreported user work data and its associated ECID in secondary storage before the transfer request ( Request n + 1) is initiated. As with the data streaming in the previous paragraph, this request accompanies the primary request. From the user's perspective, he or she may not consider the transfer of tasks separate from the initial request. Thus, in some embodiments, the client system may include a special parameter that indicates that this request (request n + 1) is a secondary request. In some embodiments, a special parameter indicating that it is a secondary request may be included in the request body or as part of the URL. Including special parameters in the request allows the application sniffing traffic to know that the request is a secondary request. Further, in some embodiments, the client may not include any other user work data in this request (request n + 1) because the initial request (request n) has not yet been fulfilled.

  The server receives and processes the request (750). In some embodiments, the server may assign a context identifier for the transfer request and log data associated with the processing of the request. After processing the request, the server prepares a response (response n + 1). In some embodiments, the backend system understands that the request (request n + 1) is a transfer request, thereby indicating that the request is a secondary request and that it is a secondary response. Therefore, a special indicator is added to the response (755). In some embodiments, if a context identifier for a secondary request-response interaction is included, an application that monitors user work data can associate that context identifier with the primary context identifier.

  The client receives the forward response (760) and loads the web page. One skilled in the art will recognize that as a result of the transfer, the entire page is loaded, so that some of the user work related data, such as client start time 770, is obtained from a secondary source. Thus, in some embodiments, the client retrieves user work related data that is typically the ECID and client start time of request 725 and stored in secondary storage. In some embodiments, the client end time is measured after processing a response 755 that completes the user's request. In the example shown, client start time 770 was the start of the primary request (request n). The client end time 775 is not the end of the first response but the end of the secondary response (response n + 1). In some embodiments, user work related data such as client start time 770 and client end time 775 may be sent to the server as part of the next request (request n + 2) or as a separate communication. In some embodiments, the user work related data includes context identifiers for primary requests (eg, ECID.n), secondary requests (eg, ECID.n + 1), or both.

D. Computing System Implementations In some embodiments, a computing system may be configured to perform one or more of the methods, functions and / or operations presented herein. A system that implements at least one of the methods, functions and / or operations described herein may include a user work monitoring application running on a computer system. A computer system may include one or more computers and one or more databases.

  It should be noted that the present invention may be implemented in any instruction execution / computing device or system capable of processing data, including but not limited to phones, laptop computers, desktop computers and servers. The invention can also be implemented in other computing devices and systems. Further, aspects of the invention may be implemented in a wide variety of ways including software, hardware, firmware, or combinations thereof. For example, the ability to implement various aspects of the present invention can vary widely, including discrete logic components, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or program-controlled processors. It can be performed by a component implemented in an aspect. It should be noted that the manner in which these items are implemented is not important to the present invention.

  FIG. 8 shows a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an instruction execution / computing device 800 that may implement or embody embodiments of the present invention, including but not limited to clients and servers. As illustrated in FIG. 8, processor 802 executes software instructions and interacts with other system components. In some embodiments, the processor 802 may be a general purpose processor (for purposes of illustration and not limitation) such as an AMD processor, INTEL processor, SUN MICROSYSTEMS processor, or POWERPC-compatible CPU, or The processor may be a special purpose processor. Data and software programs are stored in the storage device 804 coupled to the processor 802 for a long period of time. Storage device 804 is a hard disk drive and / or another device capable of storing data, such as a magnetic or optical media (eg, diskette, tape, compact disk, DVD, etc.) drive or a solid state memory device. possible. Storage device 804 may hold programs, instructions and / or data to be used by processor 802. In certain embodiments, programs or instructions stored in or loaded from storage device 804 may be loaded into memory 806 and executed by processor 802. In one embodiment, storage device 804 holds a program or instructions for implementing an operating system on processor 802. In one embodiment, possible operating systems include, but are not limited to, UNIX, AIX, LINUX, Microsoft Windows, and Apple MAC OS. In some embodiments, the operating system runs on computing system 800 and controls its operation.

  Addressable memory 806 coupled to processor 802 may be used to store data and software instructions to be executed by processor 802. The memory 806 is, for example, firmware, read only memory (ROM), flash memory, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), random access memory (RAM) or these. Any combination of these may be used. In one embodiment, memory 806 stores a number of software objects, otherwise known as services, utilities, components or modules. One skilled in the art will also recognize that the items and functions of storage 804 and memory 806 can be the same for both capacities. In certain embodiments, one or more of the methods, functions, or operations described herein may be implemented as modules stored in memory 804, 806 and executed by processor 802.

  In certain embodiments, computing system 800 provides the ability to communicate with other devices, other networks, or both. The computing system 800 may include one or more network interfaces or adapters 812, 814 to communicatively couple the computing system 800 to other networks and devices. For example, the computing system 800 may include a network interface 812, a communication port 814, or both, each of which is communicatively coupled to the processor 802 to connect the computing system 800 to other computer systems, networks and It may be used to couple to a device.

  In certain embodiments, computing system 800 may include one or more output devices 808 coupled to processor 802 to facilitate the display of graphics and text. The output device 808 may include, but is not limited to, a display, liquid crystal display screen, CRT monitor, printer, touch screen, or other device for displaying information. Computing system 800 may also include a graphics adapter (not shown) to assist in displaying information or images on output device 808.

  One or more input devices 810 coupled to the processor 802 may be used to facilitate user input. Input device 810 may include, but is not limited to, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, or touchpad, and may include a keyboard or keypad for entering data or instructions into computing system 800.

  In certain embodiments, the computing system 800 may be from a scanner, copier, facsimile machine or other computing device, whether via a communication port 814, a network interface 812, or via an input device 810. Regardless, input of data stored in memory 804/806 may be received.

  In some embodiments, computing system 800 may include one or more databases. Some of them may store data used and / or generated by a program or application. In some embodiments, one or more databases may be located on one or more storage devices 804 within computing system 800. In an alternative embodiment, one or more databases may be remote (ie, not local to computing system 800) and connect to computing system 800 via its network interface 814. May be shared with network 816. In various embodiments, the database may be a relational database such as an Oracle database adapted to store, update and retrieve data in response to SQL formatted commands.

  Those skilled in the art will recognize that the computing system or programming language is not critical to the practice of the invention. One skilled in the art will also recognize that some of the elements described above can be physically and / or functionally divided into sub-modules or combined together.

  It should be noted that embodiments of the present invention may further relate to a computer product comprising a computer readable medium having computer code stored thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code may be specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or may be known or available to those skilled in the art. Examples of computer readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and holographic devices; magneto-optical media; and program code or program code Application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), flash memory devices, and ROM and RAM devices specially configured to store and execute This includes but is not limited to hardware devices. Examples of computer code include machine code as generated by a compiler and files containing higher level code that is executed by a computer using an interpreter. Some embodiments of the invention may be implemented in whole or in part as machine-executable instructions that may reside in program modules that are executed by a computer. Examples of program modules include libraries, programs, routines, objects, components, and data structures. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be physically located with settings that are local, remote, or both.

  Those skilled in the art will recognize that the examples and examples described above are illustrative and are not limited to the scope of the invention. All modifications, enhancements, equivalents, combinations and improvements made obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification and review of the accompanying drawings are included within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Is intended.

Claims (8)

A method for monitoring user interaction between a user of a client system and an application , comprising:
Receiving at the back-end system primary semantic information regarding an event initiated by a user of the client system, wherein the event causes a client application at the client system to send a primary request to the back-end system; Primary semantic information is passed to the backend system,
Using at least one special parameter included in the primary request;
Extracting the primary semantic information using the at least one special parameter, wherein the primary semantic information is via a primary context identifier generated by the backend system for the primary request. Linked to one or more operations performed by a back-end system when processing the primary request, the primary semantic information includes event type, component type, component client identifier, component display name, region name and region view Having event information including at least one of the identifiers;
Receiving a secondary request and secondary semantic information associated with the secondary request , wherein the secondary request includes the primary context identifier, and the secondary request includes the back request. Initiated by the client application in response to an end system processing the primary request;
One or more executed by the backend system during processing of the secondary request, via the secondary context identifier generated by the backend system for the secondary request, the secondary semantic information The secondary context identifier is further linked to the primary context identifier,
Monitoring the user's interaction with the back-end system by examining the semantic information and the associated action, wherein the monitoring is initiated by a user using the primary context identifier. A method comprising identifying a conversation. Including at least one special parameter in the primary request to the backend system further comprises:
Using at least some of the primary semantic information for at least one special parameter in response to determining that the primary semantic information is stored in a current web page;
In response to determining that the primary semantic information is not stored in the current web page, using at least some of the semantic information stored in the secondary storage for at least one special parameter The method of claim 1 comprising: The method according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the secondary request includes an indicator indicating that the request is a secondary request. A method for facilitating monitoring of user interaction, comprising:
Receiving at the back-end system a request for at least one event initiated at the client system and user work-related data, the user work-related data using the at least one easily identifiable parameter And the user work related data includes at least one of a client start time of request, a partial target, an event type, a component type, a component client identifier, a component display name, a region name, and a region view identifier. And the method further comprises:
In response to the request being processed, including at least one easily identifiable parameter in a response for the processed request, wherein the at least one easily identifiable parameter is backed when processing the request. Including at least a unique context identifier for associating one or more operations performed by an end system with the client-initiated event that initiated the request, wherein the at least unique context identifier is included in the user work related data Unlike context identifiers,
User work related data for at least one event initiated in the client system is:
A first user task related data assigned communication related to the request,
At least one of second user work related data associated with the previous request,
The method
The method further comprises associating the first user work-related data with the second user work-related data via the context identifier.   The method of claim 4, wherein the client-initiated event is a secondary request for a user-initiated action, and the at least one easily identifiable parameter further includes an indication that the response is a secondary response to the secondary request. . A system for monitoring user interaction between a user of a client system and an application ,
Means for receiving at the back-end system primary semantic information regarding an event initiated by a user of the client system, said event causing a primary request from the client application at said client system to be transmitted to the back-end system. The primary semantic information is passed to the backend system using at least one special parameter included in the primary request;
Means for extracting said primary semantic information using said at least one special parameter, said primary semantic information comprising a primary context identifier generated by said backend system for said primary request. Via one or more actions performed by a back-end system during processing of the primary request, the primary semantic information comprising: event type, component type, component client identifier, component display name, region name, and Event information including at least one of the region view identifiers,
Means for receiving a secondary request and secondary semantic information associated with the secondary request , wherein the secondary request includes the primary context identifier, and the secondary request includes: Initiated by the client application in response to the backend system processing the primary request;
One or more executed by the backend system during processing of the secondary request, via the secondary context identifier generated by the backend system for the secondary request, the secondary semantic information The secondary context identifier is further linked to the primary context identifier,
Means for monitoring the user's interaction with the back-end system by examining the semantic information and the associated action, wherein the monitoring is by a user using the primary context identifier. A system that includes identifying an initiated conversation. A system for monitoring user interaction,
Means for receiving at the backend system a request for at least one event initiated at the client system and user work related data, wherein the user work related data is backed using at least one easily identifiable parameter. Communicated to the end system and includes a context identifier, wherein the user work related data includes: client start time of request, partial target, event type, component type, component client identifier, component display name, region name and region view identifier Including at least one of said systems , said system further comprising:
Means for including at least one easily identifiable parameter in a response to the processed request in response to the request being processed, wherein the at least one easily identifiable parameter is a request processing Including at least a unique context identifier for associating one or more operations that are sometimes performed by the backend system with the client-initiated event that initiated the request, the at least unique context identifier in the user work related data Unlike the included context identifier,
User work related data for at least one event initiated in the client system is:
A first user task related data assigned communication related to the request,
At least one of second user work related data associated with the previous request ,
The system
The system further comprising: means for associating a context identifier included in the first user work related data with a context identifier included in the second user work related data. Program for executing the method according to the computer in any one of claims 1 to 5.